Nigeria Forex Reserves Decline by $1.78 bln In One Month~ CBN

Nigeria external reserves dropped significantly to $42.46 billion by September 18, its lowest in six months, the latest report from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) shown on Friday.

The country's foreign exchange buffer declined by as much as $1.78 billion in one month from $44.24 billion level it was on August 19, 2019, the report indicated.
The reserves stood at $42.46 billion by March 5, this year, but leap from that level to $45.04 billion by July 23, its highest this year before it started its downward slope.
The significant drop in the country's dollar reserves may not be unconnected with fluctuation in global oil price and huge production output loss to theft by vandals and organised criminals in the Niger Delta region.
A report of the National Executive Council (NEC) released on Thursday showed that Nigeria lost $1.35 billion to oil theft in the first six months of this year.
The import of the loss was the resultant effect on government revenue and the ability to save money for raining day.
The regulatory bank has sustained its support for the local currency by injecting dollar into the foreign exchange market to curb speculation and possible depreciation in the value of the naira.
The increased supply of dollars to the domestic forex market may also have impacted negatively on the country's stock of foreign reserves.
The regulatory bank has in recent time intensify its efforts to reduce pressure on available forex by imposing ban on dollar sales to dairy importers, rice imports and other commodities that can be obtained locally.
The bank has also increased its supports for the local capacity for the productions of some of those commodities, such as rice, fish, oil-palm, and milk to boost local output.